Stand Up To Cancer

October is here, and with it a fresh dose of cancer news. It's hard to believe it's already been a month since the big show! But time marches on, and so does the research that will hopefully one day lead to the end of cancer. Like the recent discovery at Northwestern of a gene variation that is linked with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer. Funnily enough, the mutation is also associated with obesity - usually a risk factor for developing the disease.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081002/cancer_gene_081002/20081002?hub=Health

Meanwhile, a new study indicates that more and more women are getting genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer - twice as many as were getting it just a few years ago.
http://www.nbc6.net/news/17608407/detail.html

And researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research are in the process of developing a test that could better tailor treatments for men with aggressive forms of metastatic prostate cancer.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081001094340.htm

Breast cancer treatment often leads to early menopause and the nasty symptoms that come with it - hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings. Now research is beginning to show that alternative medicine can help. In one study, hypnosis was used to ease hot flashes; in another, acupuncture was seen to relieve similar symptoms.
http://in.reuters.com/article/health/idINTRE4915CZ20081002
http://astro.org/PressRoom/NewsReleases/2008NewReleases/documents/Walker.pdf

Access to screening and treatment is an ongoing issue in the US, and with the government in major financial trouble it's a problem that seems unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. That's why the Arizona Myeloma Network is reaching out to the state's Native American communities. "We have a responsibility," the network's founder said. "They have a high morbidity rate."
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/09/29/daily56.html

Avid readers of our Weekly Links series know how much I love it when a cure comes from an unlikely place. Like, say, scorpion venom. Radioactive scorpion venom. It's not just for comic books anymore!
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hdE5Tm0xs6ITxYvaGnhdL9bjGBMQ

And finally, the FDA just cleared Alimta - otherwise known as pemetrexed - for first-line treatment against lung cancer. Fingers crossed that this new drug can help where others have failed.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080930/BUSINESS/809300333/1003/BUSINESS

Well, that's all we've got this week, but we'll see you next Thursday for more!

--Cat